Paradise of the Stranded
by tinylionsteps
Summary: Shipwrecked and stranded on a desert island. Jane, Maura, Frost and Korsak are relieved to come across fellow survivors - unaware of how they will impact their lives and change the way the feel about one another. Eventual Rizzles.
1. Preface

**A/N:** I've had this story running through my head for a while now. I've been in a bit of a writers block, and had recently watched both 'Titanic' and 'The Blue Lagoon' - in a half-dazed sleep state _this_sort of just came to me.

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_**Preface**_

It happened much quicker than you would imagine possible.

Within minutes of the collision the lower deck was flooded, the water gushing with tremendous power, knocking down everything in it's path including unsuspecting passengers.

Maura had been on the jogging track in the upper deck at the point of collision. She had fell to the floor with the impact, her knees and hands were bloody but she gripped on tight to a nearby mast. Her long hair masked her face, whipping in front of her with the incredible wind force, trying to drag her down to her demise.

She watched in terror as many of the people around her slid down towards the stern of the ship which was descending into the freezing waves. Couples, mothers, fathers, children. All gone within an instant. Maura heard their blood shrill cries as their bodies were broken and discarded amongst the wreckage, she closed her eyes tight and screamed along with them.

Jane was on the middle deck, powering her way towards the upper deck. She struggled past a rampaging mob of strangers who were desperately trying to push their way down to where the life boats were being deployed. She was more desperate. It was not her life that concerned her, it was Maura's. _"Please"_, she prayed, _"Let her be okay, please"._

She pushed past the mass of bodies surrounding her, throwing herself forward with as much might as she could muster. It took her less than ten minutes to locate the caramel blonde whose grip around the mast was loosening as the ship began to tip on a vertical angle. Without speaking a word, Jane wrapped a spare roll of old rope around her waist and secured it to the metal bars within the upper deck pool. She lowered herself down slowly, reaching out her damaged hand's to Maura's own.

"Maura! Grab on, I'll lift you up!"

Maura stretched towards Jane, reaching out her bloodied fingers. She lost her footing. In an instant her body tumbled down the decking towards the sinking stern.

"No!" Jane cried, throwing her body with all her weight towards Maura at incredible speed. She reached her half-way down the deck, grabbing her tightly around her waist and pulling her close. The rope pulled tight and their bodies hung flat against the decking. Maura sobbed into Jane's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around Jane's neck but her hands firmly gripping the rope above Jane's own. They struggled against all odds to pull themselves up the rope and back towards the pool. Their feet tired from constantly slipping against the decking, their hands chaffed and cracked from rope burn.

After what felt like hours, they made it back to the base of the now drained pool. Jane released the rope and watched it hurtle down the decking into the crashing waves. It disappeared within seconds right before her eyes, just as Maura almost had. Together they crawled their way back down the staircase towards the middle deck, their hands interlocked as water gushed around their knees, soaking them to the bone.

It took a good few minutes but they eventually found their way in the darkness to where the life boats were being deployed, but on arrival discovered that they were all gone. They were all alone.

_Almost._

"Jane!", she heard her name being screamed across the ship, the voice fighting to be heard over the roaring wind. She knew that voice, it was too familiar for her not to recognize. She turned to face Maura and saw the same recognition and hope flash through her weary green eyes.

"Frost?" Jane yelled, turning her body around in circles as she surveyed the area around them. "Frost! Where are you?". She turned furiously, trying to locate where the voice was coming from.

"Here, h-here! To your left!" he screamed, his voice breaking as he struggled to pull Korsak's sinking weight towards the two women.

Jane yanked her body left, it hurt like hell but was worth the relief that flooded over her when she saw Frost and Korsak a short distance from them. The relief was short lived though, as they were soon close enough for her to make out that Korsak was badly injured. His eyes were closed tight, and his mouth was turned down into a shuddering grimace. The deep set lines on his face were sunken and his skin had turned a pale grey shade not so dissimilar from his hair color.

But there was no time to fret over injuries, the boat was sinking fast. In minutes it would be completely submerged and so would they.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jane spotted a red axe propped up on a wall, guarded by a sheath of thin glass. She crawled over to the wall, releasing Maura's hand. She didn't turn around so she didn't see the look of horror on Maura's face. Her outstretched hand reaching for the absent Jane.

Jane clambered to the spot where the axe was located, digging her nails into the wood to pull herself up. Small slithers of wood broke off the freshly painted white wall and gathered in back of Jane's nails, leaving burgundy claw marks to reveal the timber underneath. Without a second thought, Jane threw her elbow into the glass, shattering in to the floor in thousands of jagged pieces. She ripped the axe out of its placement, a dull ringing emerging from its casing.

_"Good lot that'll do now"_she thought to herself, snickering as she made her way over to the nearest doorway.

She observed the hinges on the closest door, they were sturdy but old. Damaged enough from years of sun and water to break if enough force was exerted. Jane brought the axe down hard and fast. She had to repeat the action several times to loosen the hinges enough for the door to be pried away free, the force earning small beads of hot sweat to drip from her forehead.

Looking over at Jane struggling to lift the large door, Frost suddenly understood. He made his way over to her as quickly as he was able, nodding solemnly at her so she would recognize his understanding. She nodded back once, short and sharp. She prayed that he couldn't see the tears forming in her dark eyes.

Together, they dragged the door back over to Maura and Korsak. His slumped body was leaning against her shoulder, she was shaking equally from both fear and the cold water that had drenched them earlier.

"C'mon" Jane said, reaching her hand back to Maura as Frost took back the weight of Korsak, acting as his crutch. Maura grabbed her hand tightly, squeezing twice as she looked up into Jane's eyes with questioning. Fear had rendered her speechless but her inquisitive mind needed to know what was going on, what Jane was planning.

Jane smiled halfheartedly at her and squeezed back. She lifted Maura's hand to meet her lips and kissed her knuckles tenderly. Maura sighed at the contact, she could feel the warmth from Jane's lips spread from her knuckles throughout her entire body. Warming her from the inside, out.

"We need to get this door over the side of the ship" Jane explained, motioning to a vacant strip in which the ship's decking was parallel to a calmer part of the ocean. "And then we've gotta jump in", Jane saw terror grip onto Maura, her green eyes threatening to pool over with tears. "We've gotta jump in, and climb onto the door".

She sighed deeply, and called Frost over to whisper momentarily into his ear. Maura didn't hear what she said to Frost but she noticed the flash of concern pass through his face, followed by a resounding look of certainty.

"Maura - you and Korsak - we're gonna get you two to lay on the door as we lower it into the ocean, then Frost and me, we'll jump in the water and climb on after you"

"NO", the words escaped Maura's mouth before she had even had a chance to process what Jane was saying.

"Maura, please" Jane whimpered as she begged, "Please, do this - for me".

"Okay", Maura replied sniffling. She sucked up her fear and tried to trick her mind into believing she was courageous. She suddenly remembered a song from her childhood she had made up in her head when the mean children at school had poked fun at her, calling her 'Maura the Bore-a'. She remembered being irritated that the children had added an unnecessary 'A' to the end of the word 'bore', just so it would rhyme but then, for experimental purposes, decided to give it a go herself. _"I am Maura, here me Roar-a"_she had sung in her head, too proud to let the other children see her cry.

As Jane and Frost helped her lay flat against the door and pushed it towards to opening where the waves aggressively lashed out and beat against the decking, Maura repeated it to herself over and over again - as a mantra to prove that she could be tough. She could be brave, she had to be - for Jane.

"I am Maura, here me Roar-a", she sniffed silently, knowing her low voice couldn't be heard against the cracking of the ocean in front of her.

She felt the weight of the ocean before she had even realized she and Korsak were upon it. The waves beat the door around, throwing it up at their peak and then dropping it deeply as they collapsed amongst themselves. She heard Korsak mumbling as the water licked at their feet and legs, briefly submerging their ankles before releasing them back into the cold air once more.

She turned at the shuddering impact of Jane and Frost launching their bodies into the water. Maura inhaled sharply, holding her breath as she waited for Jane's head to re-emerge from beneath the dark pooling waves.

It took a second, but soon she saw Jane's tangled, dark locks and powerful arms lunging towards her, a dark figure - Frost - striking the waves along beside her. Within moments the two were pulling their own weight up upon the door, Frost offering to help Jane first before she reached down to pull him up to safety as well.

They all turned uncannily at the same time to observe the sinking wreckage they were leaving behind, Korsak even opening his eyes briefly for those moments of mourning. As their makeshift raft floated away, bodies of those who had not been as lucky began to come into view. Larger ones to signify men and women, smaller ones for children. Cops and their families. Some they recognized, they had been co-workers, friends. Others were strangers, people they would never have the chance to know. They all looked like broken dolls, their limbs collapsed over fallen lumps of metal and wood.

As the distance started to become strong enough so that they were no longer able to make out the faces of the lost souls before them, a Captain's hat floated eerily beside them. He had gone down with his ship, his diminished body sinking to the depths of the sea.

Jane reached into the water, pulling the hat free from the ocean's grip. She held it close to her heart and closed her eyes, Maura gripping her vacant hand and squeezing it gently.

The three other drenched bodies upon the door followed Jane in suit, closing their eyes and placing a hand wearily over their hearts. Together they said a last prayer for the dead, and a first for their own lives.

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**A/N: **This has sort of brought me out of my writers block but I haven't forgotten about 'Bond, Jane Bond' - I promise to update it as soon as possible for any of you who are interested.


	2. Discovery

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed/added to story alert/added to favorite stories! You're all amazing. I'm so glad people are interested in this, and I love reading your reviews and opinions!

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She tasted salt on her dry tongue, her mouth aching for a drop of clean water.  
_"How cruel", _she thought groggily as she awoke from her jaded sleep, _"to be surrounded by water and be unable to drink it"_. Maura turned her head to face where Jane had been resting, her hands brushing away stray hair and eyes fluttering open as they adjusted to the suns penetrating rays.

There was no one there.

_"NO", _her mind screamed although her mouth was unable to voice the sound. She turned her head furiously around, fighting the dull pain that was weighing her skull down flat against the wooden panels.

She was alone. She was the only one on the door.

Maura pulled her body up to the center of the door, her bare knees grazing against the dampened wood, gushing fresh blood upon old wounds. She turned in circles, calling out to the empty waves around her.

"JANE? BARRY? VINCE?" she screamed, the desperation evident in her cries.

_"Nonononononono"_she sobbed, her eyes dry and unable to form tears. She toppled over, her forehead in front of her knees, flat against the makeshift raft. She clutched her hands to her heart, she feel her pulse beating rapidly and her lungs heaving laboriously as if they had captured the weight of the ocean and were struggling to suppress it. She felt as if she were drowning. After minutes of silently screaming, she was able to produce one single tear. As it rolled from the tear duct of her left her and slowly trickled down her cheek, Maura lifted her head once more. It just didn't make any sense, where had they gone?

All she could see was water, no land, no people - no Jane.

She closed her eyes and howled a dry wail as her body jolted against something hard with a deep thud. Something yellow. She could feel it under her fingertips, under the palm of her hand. It was sinking with her weight, shifting and adapting in form. Simultaneously hard and soft. Had she hit something?

Her eyes flickering open, she looked around her, wondering where the water had gone and why it had been replaced with grainy, yellow particles. "Sand?", she muttered aloud, using all her remaining energy to turn her body over upon the door which was anchored half upon a expanse of sand. An island. Had she been dreaming?

Holding her breath as she turned, she expected the worst. She expected her dream, her nightmare.

But no - there they were. Jane Rizzoli, Barry Frost, Vince Korsak. Their bodies collapsed upon one another from exhaustion. Their eyes closed, their faces pink with sunburn and expressions blank. She realized then that one of Jane's hands was still interlocked with her own, and that the other was draped across her thigh - her fingers clenched as they gripped onto the torn material of Maura's stockings.

"Jane!" she said quietly, gently rocking her body to wake the woman from her slumber. She rubbed the hand she had been holding within both of her own, hoping the friction would draw her out of her daze. When that didn't rouse more than a mumbled groan from the fatigued Rizzoli's throat, Maura pronounced to splashing her face softly with water from the cool ocean waves that were bubbling around them. Rather than feeling aggressive and forceful as before, the waves were now gentle and small - caressing the door as it slowly pushed it further upon the land.

After three splashes, Jane's conscious came tumbling back to her. She had been dreaming, of what exactly she wasn't sure - but there had been white light, and there had been Maura. Had Maura been saying her name? She couldn't be certain. All she knew was that she had felt warm and safe...and happy. _"Yes, definitely happy", _she smiled at the thought, instantly feeling how dry and cracked her lips were as they turned up at the corners. She licked her lips, the taste of salt drawing her back to reality.

"Jane? Jane...are you awake?" Maura stumbled over her words, her anxiety to hear the brunette speak once more building with intensity as each second ticked over.

"Mmmm..." Jane mumbled, nodding her head in assent. "Don't splash me again" she growled jokingly, prying open her eyes to look up upon Maura's face which was leaning over her own.

She saw Maura's own lips turn upwards, her weak grin slowly become toothy until it was a definite smile. Jane laughed, suddenly choking as she realized how dry her throat had become. Maura lifted her head up so it could lean upon her shoulder as Jane's body forced a last few shuddering lurches.

She nuzzled into Maura's neck, sighing deeply before pressuring her eyes to open once more. She looked around. They were on land. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up to meet Maura's own. Maura simply nodded in response, smiling sadly. She didn't know whether this was a situation that should warrant happiness. Sure, they were alive. But they hadn't been found, and had drifted - who knows how far - away from the sunken ship where the authorities would certainly go, _if_ they came at all.

With that thought dwelling in their minds, the two women heard Frost lurch back to life as well. His body convulsing as he coughed up a small mouthful of salt water which had been pooling in the back of his throat. On seeing that Jane and Maura too were awake, he rolled his body over to nudge Korsak who grumbled as he woke.

On noticing the presence of the island, Korsak began to stir. He sat up wearily, leaning his body against Frost unashamedly. "Coulda been worse", he halfheartedly chuckled, "We coulda been eaten by sharks". Frost rolled his eyes at the comment and turned back to face the women who had only returned Korsak's halfhearted smile. Jane was just glad to see he was alive, although she still wasn't sure how bad his injuries were.

"Shall we get up, or lay here a few more hours?" Frost yawned, leaning his head back upon Korsak's which was heavily rested against Frost's shoulder.

"Better get up" Jane motioned as she began to rise, "Look around, make sure we're not about to be eaten by cannibals"

Maura was suprized at how easily her three companions had returned to witty banter after all they had been through. _"Although"_, she thought, _"I suppose it is a good sign that they're still acting in their usual form". _It didn't even occur to her that perhaps the three brave detectives were doing so to mask the fear and pain they were currently feeling.

Jane climbed onto the land, her feet sinking with every step. She surveyed the expanse around them, shading her eyes with her left hand. Beyond the sand was a deep forest, inviting them inside with luscious variations of green and brown. "There has to be a fresh water supply somewhere - a pond or creek maybe" Jane relayed to the others, pointing towards the distance of green. There were also some steep hills, shaded in the background, that she could just make out. There was no questioning it - this island covered a surprising enormity of land.

Maura rose to stand beside her, pulling gingerly at the ripped hem of her blue dress. She bit her lip softly as she shaded her eyes from the sun with her right hand. The harsh rays of the sun had tarnished her revealed skin an unflattering shade of pink, leaving it tight and sore. Jane was lucky, her natural olive complexion hadn't burned quite as bad.

"I think we should get Korsak out of the sun - I'll need to examine him to comprehend the extent of his injuries" Maura whispered to Jane, hoping that by lowering her register she could ensure Korsak would be unable to overhear her and spare him any unnecessary embarrassment.

"Do you think he'll be okay, Maur?" Jane tried to remain steady, but the break in her tone was undeniable. She was terrified for Korsak.

Maura knew she couldn't lie to Jane, she couldn't reassure her with any comforting words. She didn't know whether Korsak would be alright, and refused to entertain the idea that he might not be. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Jane's waist and pulled her in close. She hoped Jane would be able to find comfort in her actions, rather than her words.

"Alright lovebirds, lets get going" Frost appeared beside them, propping Korsak up with both his arms. He jokingly pushed past them, stumbling ahead with Korsak in tow.

Jane felt suddenly awkward. Why did Frost refer to her and Maura as 'lovebirds'? She shook her head, why did it even matter to her? He was just joking after all.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Jane mumbled, pulling away from Maura's embrace.

"I bet you're glad Frankie vomited all over your floor now" Frost retorted, wincing as he struggled with Korsak's weight after tripping on a small rift in the sand.

Three days prior to leaving for the cruise, Frankie had vomited on Jane's kitchen floor. Maura diagnosed that he had a simple virus, a few days rest and he would be back on his feet, but he decided to opt out of attending the cruise. Jane knew that secretly he had been happy about contracting a virus, he always got a little sea sick and he didn't want Frost to hold that over him. He liked having the upper hand and being able to tease Frost about his queasiness when it came to dealing with dead bodies. Plus, he'd already have to deal with Frost now teasing him about vomiting on Jane's kitchen floor let alone vomiting every hour on a cruise ship.

"You have no idea" Jane sighed, truly thankful that he hadn't been on board. "But really, I'm just sad for everyone else out there", Jane looked back towards the rippling ocean, "So many - gone - just like that", and she snapped her fingers mid air for emphasis.

After drudging their way through the thick sand, the quartet eventually found a clear space of land in the lush forrest to rest. The trees hung high over their heads as a tropical canopy, shading them from the cruel sun. Jane licked her lips once more, she needed water immediately. Her body ached and felt heavy from dehydration. Looking around at her friends, she could tell they were in the same shape. But she was too tired to move. Her back flat against the soft grass and the cool shade protecting her from the sun, she felt sleep inviting her once more. Her eyes closed and body sunk into a comfortable position, the slumber began to lure her back out of reality. And that's when she heard it.

_BANG. _

A gunshot.


End file.
